KHTS Radio Santa Clarita Radio – Santa Clarita News
Governor Gavin Newsom spoke at a new $25 million COVID-19 testing facility in Valencia on Friday, which is expected to significantly increase the state’s testing capacity.
Newsom spoke at the new facility on Livingston Avenue in Valencia, which opened Friday. The lab is expected to be able to process up to 150,000 test kits daily, focusing on the most commonly used polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, which isolates genetic material from a swab sample, according to the governor’s office.
“This lab is happening at the right time,” he said. “This new laboratory will allow California to ensure its testing capacity is timely, equitable and cost-effective – just when Californians need it most.”
The governor noted the colder winter months, combined with the holiday season, could lead to a spike in cases across the state.
The Valencia lab is expected to increase the state’s testing capacity by a minimum of 75 percent, Newsom said.
“We’ve got to box this disease in,” he said. “More testing is foundational. But what you do after the tests is the real test of the leadership we need to see at the local, regional, state and federal level. And that is tracing and making sure we’re isolating and quarantining individuals so they can recover and we can mitigate the spread for asymptomatic, pre-symptomatic individuals, or those that are experiencing symptoms. Timely testing is foundational in terms of advancing those goals.”
Photo Courtesy of the Governor Newsom’s Office
The lab is run by PerkinElmer, a Massachusetts-based diagnostics company that partnered with California to improve COVID-19 testing efficiency and capacity, according to the governor’s office.
Currently, there are about 300 employees at the Valencia testing location, with up to 700 people expected to be employed, which would rank the facility among the top 20 employers in Santa Clarita.
The governor announced in August that California has signed a groundbreaking contract with a major diagnostics company, which is set to allow California to process up to an additional 150,000 COVID-19 diagnostic tests a day, with a contractual turnaround time of 24-48 hours.
It took two months to build the faculty, which was made under the budget, according to Newsom.
See Related: Governor Announces New Covid Testing Lab In Valencia, Will Double State’s Testing Capacity
This “first-of-its-kind” agreement aims to disrupt the testing marketplace, help break supply chain logjams and drive down the costs for tests for every Californian.
“California is using its market power to combat global supply chain challenges and protect Californians in the fight against COVID-19. Supply chains across the country have slowed as demand for COVID-19 tests has increased, and flu season will only exacerbate the problem,” Newsom said in a statement back in August. “So we are building our own laboratory capabilities right here on California soil with a stable supply chain to fight the disease, lower the prices of testing for everyone and protect Californians most at risk from COVID-19.”
The state continues to evaluate new technological breakthroughs in testing, which is why this contract includes provisions that enable the contractor to adopt new technology at a lower price point. Additionally, the state plans to leverage multiple technologies or modalities with multiple laboratory partners to ensure that we diversify our testing capabilities.
Photo Courtesy of the Governor Newsom’s Office
The per-test cost would be $30.78 at 150,000 tests per day. For context, Medicare and Medicaid both reimburse at roughly $100 per test, while the average cost of a COVID-19 test ranges from $150 – $200 per test, according to Newsom’s office.
To support this contract at the lowest cost to taxpayers, the state will enter into a contract for third-party billing services to recoup costs from health insurance companies or other payers, according to the state.
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Where is it in Valencia?
Mr. Petzold, It is located on Livingston Avenue, which is in the Valencia commerce center which is in Castaic.
Will they be a testing site , not just a lab?
Send the Bill to China. Tax payers shouldn’t have to flip the bill. Since you’re behind this I have little faith to where tax payers dollars will be going
Yeah! Same with that bill for the Ice Station! Can’t believe these Santa Clarita idiots decided to buy that for 14.5 MILLION! Cant stand these Socialist Bailouts!
Hilarious! More conspiracy theories.
Send it to Trump.
Recall this puke. All for a photo op. Makes me sick with his corruption and hypocrisy
I 100% agree.
I completely agree
Recall this Soros puppet!
Next step will be FEMA
camp for those who are refusing to vaccinate.
Everything is going according to the plan of Agenda 21.
Wake up people!
100% here too!
Recall this Soros puppet!
Next step will be FEMA camp for those who refused to take the vaccine. Everything is according to the plan of Agenda 21. Wake up people!
Recall this puppet of Soros!
Yuck, we don’t need him here! because of the mismanagement of this state people are losing their businesses, homes and our forests burn. I’m glad I signed a recall on him.
25 million??? Yikes! Your tax dollars at work! Does this man even know how much he’s hated? Incredible that he could show up here.
Your article is missing some important information, such as whether they will be offering direct testing at their facility, and where the facility is located (eg. street address), and how local citizens can benefit from it (if that is possible) directly, and do they work with any local health services organizations (like Kaiser-Permanente for example) to offer testing to local citizens?
Gary, I don’t believe local residents will directly benefit from this. Are the people being hired to work there from SCV? The article doesn’t say, so I would think not.
150,000 tests/day? This sounds like a main testing or processing site for the State of CA. How come the people of SCV and Castaic had no say in the decision to build this dumbass testing site here?
I agree with Trevor and Kam! Who thought it was a great idea to spend 25 million dollars on a testing facility we don’t really need!? If your sick you will know it! This man is insane and breaking the constitutions by taking away people’s first amendment rights to choose for themselves what is right for them, and being a one man government he has no legal right to force people into a never ending lock down and destroying our business, he is NOT a King. Covid-18 has a 99.9 percent survival rate and most people are not getting it. All this is going to do is line his pockets and bring an influx of sick people into Santa Clarita that we don’t need or want!? Did anyone stop and think exactly how long this 25 million dollar testing facility is going to be open!?? when we develop a herd immunity it will be useless like hin… RECALL HIS STUPID ASS.
Also hilarious!
What First Amendment right is he supposedly abridging?
The Pandemic is an Act of God. China isn’t God. Perhaps the Vatican..
The pandemic was an act of Communist China
And the 1918 pandemic was started in a Kansas farm next to the US Army’s massive ww1 training facility. Read how WE infected the planet 101 years ago and be careful of stones you throw.
http://www.kansas.com/news/local/article200880539.html
No wonder I was so agitated today. I could sense his dumb*ss here today. #trump2020
You people are all morons. Gets things under control and then we get back to life as we knew it again. Don’t blame Newsom, blame your ignorance.
Leroy Brown, what the he** are you talking about??
Agreed. Selfishness, ignorance, lies, and trying to make everything political are the true diseases we need to eradicate in this country!
LeRoy Brown, are you baddest man in the whole damn town?
Badder than old King Kong and meaner than a junkyard dog….
Thank you Leroy.
I’m in shock over this bonehead move…25 million for a COVID testing facility? When 25 million could have been used to financially help the thousands who can’t pay their bills or have lost their businesses, jobs and their homes.
You know the people, the law-abiding ones who follow the rules, work hard and pay exorbitant taxes in this state? The ones that pay YOUR salary…your ‘minions’, so to speak.
We don’t need a testing facility here, we need to reopen our State!
The number of new U.S. COVID-19 cases continued to break records for the third day straight on Friday, when more than 97,000 infections were reported, according to NBC News.
That number tops Thursday’s previous record-breaking 90,456 cases.
And Thursday’s number had broken Wednesday’s record high of 80,662 new cases.
In all, it is the fifth time since Oct. 22 that the number of new daily cases reached a record high.
There were 969 reported deaths from COVID-19 on Friday, the network reported.
25 million is insane for tax payer money! This is just as bad when Santa Clarita decided to buy out the Ice Station for 14.5 MILLION, completely ridiculous! I believe in Free Market, not the SOCIALIST BAILOUTS that Santa Clarita is making with OUR Tax dollars!
Get over YOURSELF
Brown and Newsom took a wrecking ball to this once great state but there’s still hope Garcetti is promoting a $20 discount on parking tickets! You can’t make this stuff up not even Barnum and Bailey would’ve hired these clowns back in the day.
Roger & Charles I like my fancy clothes too!
Bunch of babies in this comment section:
Wahhhh my taxes are high, Wahhhh Newsom is stopping me from putting bigger tires on my pick up truck with all these taxes, wahhhh I don’t want to wear a mask…
COVID is going strong and you blame the guy for setting up a testing center…
You expect me to talk Goldfinger?
No Mr. Bond I expect you to die!